About Me

My name is Cackie Trippe McCarty and I live in Richmond, Virginia USA.  I am the creator of Glittermoon Cards which are greeting cards based on my photography.  You can see them here.

I started Glittermoon Vintage Christmas in 2011.

I love Christmas –  and the joy of the season.  And I am crazy about old Christmas ornaments and decorations.

Plus I am a collector.  Of many things.  But I apparently have a pretty serious problem when it comes to Christmas stuff.  I have been collecting ornaments, mostly the blown glass ones, for my own tree for many, many years.  I began collecting the vintage stuff in dribs and drabs even before I went to work for a local antiques dealer doing estate sales in the late 1990’s.  Sooner or later my big tree got full – even after having to replace a ton of ornaments which were broken the year the tree fell over.  So, I started a second tree – this one was devoted to all vintage ornaments

Years ago I saw an article in a magazine about how to make a wreath from ornaments.  I decided to make one for myself.  It turned out great.  So, in 2011, as an adjunct to my cards and photography, I decided to make wreaths from the true vintage stuff to sell as well.  I search high and low for the most unusual, beautiful, and truly special decorations.  These wonderful pieces have been gently loved, often by several generations in the same family.  I especially love it when someone points to an ornament and says, “My grandmother (or mother or aunt) had one of these!”  Recycling memories.

Every piece I make is unique; there will never be another one like it. This is not only because of the materials themselves (as in what I have in my inventory) but I would be bored to tears if I had to reproduce previous designs. I usually begin each wreath (or centerpiece) with something very special as a focal point.  Loving the mental stimulation of design, I let color, scale, and texture drive the composition.  Generally, it takes parts of 3 days to make a wreath from start to finish.

In 2013, Mariah Carey bought one of my wreaths.  That was pretty darn exciting, I don’t mind telling you.  And, of course, it was pink.

The “Mariah episode” came to be because of a serendipitous meeting that occurred in June of that year.  At the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, an interesting couple came into my booth and began looking at the wreaths.  After some conversation, the woman handed me her card and asked me to give her a call that August.  I assumed that she wanted me to make her a wreath for that coming Christmas.  When I got home, I looked up the website that was on the card and was surprised to see that I had just met the owners of a very prestigious Manhattan business, Zeze Flowers.  In August, I made the phone call to Peggy.  When she asked me how many wreaths I could make for their shop’s 2013 holiday collection, I almost fell off my chair.  In the end, I made them 6 wreaths, one of which ended up with Mariah, the other 5 graced their shop windows for the Christmas season.

In 2013, The Fabulous Beekman Boys (Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell), who I first met in 2011 (there are numerous posts on the blog about them), asked me to make wreaths for their Beekman 1802 Holiday Website.  I also made a huge wreath to hang in their flagship store, the Beekman 1802 Mercantile, in Sharon Springs, NY.  This was not only thrilling for me since I admire them very much, but it was a lot of fun.  They pretty much let me run wild.

I am very fortunate in that my wreaths and topiaries have a national following and have been shipped all over the continental USA.  I am a proud member of the Beekman 1802 artisan collective (Beekman1802.com, based in upstate NY) and an artisan at the Country Living (Magazine) Fairs. My work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, R Home Magazine, the Beekman 1802 Almanac, and Holiday Décor (Home for the Holidays)Magazine.

I have seen numerous wreaths made by people on the internet but I think there is something that sets Glittermoon’s apart. I hope you agree.  I’d love to hear from you.

I will be showing you what I make but we will also take some interesting little side trips along the way.  I hope that you will join me.

************

Scroll through these pictures if you’d like to learn a little more about me. I hope you will enjoy!

 

 

SaveSave